Maison Darragon, Vouvray Demi-Sec Le Haut Des Ruettes 2022

Vouvray Demi Sec occupies a fascinating middle ground that the Loire does better than almost anywhere on earth: sweet enough to carry serious fruit weight, dry enough to demand food or close attention. Maison Darragon's Le Haut des Ruettes comes from old Chenin Blanc vines on the plateau above the Brenne valley, where the soils shift from clay over tuffeau limestone and the grapes take their time ripening into something genuinely complex. The 2022 vintage gave warmth without sacrificing freshness, and this wine lands with poached quince, orange blossom, and a streak of wet stone that keeps everything honest. This is the kind of Vouvray that converts people who assumed demi sec meant cloying.